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Month: October 2014

Huh, so due date came and went. It was highly uneventful. I think Suz maybe had some twinges (which was possibly just wind) and we scared a woman while out on our dog walk who, once told baby was ready to appear, looked panicked in case it fell out there and then. We’ve tested quite a few of the old wives’ tales to try and get things moving along… although being someone who opts for PLAIN chicken at Nando’s (I know, it’s embarrassing, and I probably should have dumped her a long time ago), Suz isn’t massively up for getting involved with a spicy curry.

One good thing that has come from a little extra time (because nine months just really isn’t long enough) is the fact we’ve now got everything sorted. While Suz watched some sort of awareness programme on people involved in business who manage to function on zero braincells (The Apprentice or something) I got to work on a Moses basket stand, a nursing chair and Snuzpod. Together, we’ve also now made sure every item of clothing/bedding etc has been hand washed and hung up and the hospital bags are now ready and sat by our bedroom door. Which on reflection is actually a bit silly because Suz manages to fall arse over tit on them every time she goes for her 2am, 3am, 4.30am, 6:15am wees.

It’s still really alien trying to get my head around the fact a) a human’s got to come out of my girlfriend’s body, b) I’m about to become someone’s dad, c) one of the biggest moments in my life is about to happen. Suz and I talk about it all the time… how you’re constantly trying to prepare for something you have no idea how to prepare for. And the enormity of it all. I mentioned taking in one of our nice champagnes to the hospital to celebrate on the big day and Suz responded ‘we could, but didn’t we want to save it for something special?’ before quickly realising unless she gives birth to the reincarnation of Jesus, nothing much will top the birth of her own children. We’ve packed the champagne.

The other much less exciting news is that I’ve gone back to training. I’m resembling Fat Bastard post carb binge at the moment so it’s not a great deal of fun and I even turned down a topless magazine shoot this week on the basis I didn’t want to cause lots of spontaneous puking from readers. All exaggerations aside, I’ve had a few weeks off to enjoy myself, eat what I want and not panic about having that second (thirteenth) slice of red velvet cake and it’s definitely taken it’s toll. I feel like I’m at the heaviest I’ve ever been along with the most unfit, and now I’m excited to get back to my usual routine and see everything fall back into place. It was important I took some time out to rest though and I’m glad I did… this year went better than I could have expected and I wanted to make sure I crammed in some time together with Suz, dining out and relaxing with culinary treats at home, before our lives become that little more hectic and we’re grabbing meals in between bum changes and naps. It’ll be exciting to see how quick I can get back into shape and even better once Suz can join in. We spent a good few hours shopping for new gym kit the other day and after a few months of chilling out, we’re already feeling really inspired to get moving.

The Snuzpod might actually be the world’s best inventions by the way. Loads of mums and dads had recommended it to us and after reading up on the benefits, we can see why. It’s a lovely, safe way to have baby sleeping close at night and, as Suz intends to breastfeed, it’s a great way to get feeding done from the comfort of your own bed without worrying you might fall asleep before getting baby back to a cot. The transparent side comes down so your baby can see you in all your dribbly, open mouth sleeping glory, and you can settle them with a mere stretch of the arm if need be (or at least that’s what we like to tell ourselves. Cue fast forwarding to nights of pacing round the room doing lots of rocking). If you’ve used one yourself and got any feedback then send it on over, I’m always keen to hear what products worked for other parents.

Secondly… how comfy are nursing chairs? It’s a revelation! I may in fact attempt to grow a pair of breasts and insist in the taking over of feeding just so I get to rock in it more than I’ll currently be allowed. Ours is from Kuband comes with a handy footstool which again, yes, I’ll be trying to use at every possible moment. Suz can sit on a bean bag or something. She likes bean bags. We’ve chosen to have it in our room rather than the nursery, just so we can plonk ourselves in it in the middle of the night if baby’s a bit restless, and it fits in perfectly with the rest of the decor. Anything baby-related that doesn’t look too ‘baby’ is a big plus with us, and something a lot of brands seem to be picking up on. We’d much rather stock up on products with longevity or that just slot in the home, and this ticks both these boxes.

So we’ve touched down at week 39 of the great pregnancy journey! We’ve managed to get a bit of sleep-deprivation practise in already because Suz is now practically breakdancing in bed every night trying to get comfy. And in turn, keeps us both awake.

Poor me.

We’ve met the last stretch in very different ways. Suz is still Mr. Muscle with boobs, ploughing through every grain of non-existent dirt with thousands of antiseptic wipes and spending hours folding, re-folding and re-re-folding all the miniature outfits… and I’ve spent a fortune on my new hobby; mountain biking. In the past few weeks I’ve snapped up a couple of bikes for me and my dad, researched every gadget going and sorted permits so we can burn off some energy on the tracks behind my garden. The two approaches do, in a way, go together quite nicely. I get to triumphantly wheel my bike into the kitchen, covered in mud, while talking about breaking my speed PB (handily recorded by an app) and Suz gets to wheel the bike back out to somewhere more appropriate and then steam clean everywhere. She doesn’t always thank me but I know secretly she’s really quite chirpy about the whole arrangement.

In all seriousness though, it’s been really nice to find something I can do with my dad and enjoy while I’m on my break period from competing. Plus Suz has assured me she likes the fact I’m out the house (probably because she can mop the floors without me traipsing all over them three minutes later) and I’m almost certain she likes the daily visits to the bike shop with me because Starbucks is next door and I *always* buy her something tasty. What a lucky woman.

With the countdown to the big day fast approaching, we’ve been getting excited every time Suz has a twinge. She’s berated me for asking what’s wrong every time she winces because apparently ‘look, you’ll know when I go into bloody labour’, but it’s hard not to want to spring into action and start speed-packing. We’ve decided to put all essentials aside (including a very fetching newborn hat complete with Dumbo ears) and wait to shove everything in a holdall for when the pains are kicking in and we need to set off for hospital. Suz reckons this will give her something to focus on. I think it will cause me to have a mini nervous breakdown.

As you may have read in last week’s post (on the brilliance of Natal Hypnotherapy), we’ve had quite an eventful two weeks. Far from sitting back and relaxing, we’ve had two pretty large get togethers at our house and spent what feels like 14 days of buying food/drink, entertaining, cleaning, tidying and BBQing. It’s been great fun seeing everyone before baby arrives and we can’t thank our friends and family enough for how generous they’ve been in celebrating and bringing gifts, this is going to be one very lucky human.

My eyeballs still haven’t quite recovered from beer pong and all the sicks but you can’t win them all.

And at least I didn’t spend the last few hours of my baby shower like Suz did: sat on the floor of our utility room with three dogs at 2am, hoping all the drunk people would just go the hell to bed.

As these nine long months come to a close, we’re astronomically excited about what lies ahead. Obviously a lot’s going to change and we still can’t quite get our heads around the fact the two of us will soon be three, but we can’t wait. I know, especially for Suz, this year has been LONG and she’s very, very ready to move onto the next stage. It’s crazy to think in as little as a week’s time she’ll be walking round without a big ol’ bump plonked on the front of her… something I might have trouble adjusting too actually, I have to say I’ve become quite attached to her resembling a Teletubby. We’ve stocked up on boxsets, onesies, blankets and are prepared to hibernate our little lives away for the next few months… and aside from a few events and weddings, we’ll be spending lots of time quietly adjusting to life with a grouchy little rugrat. It’s been great (for me anyway) documenting ‘the journey’ into parenthood and how we’ve been preparing, plus it’s lovely hearing from all the rest of you and how you did/are doing the same. There’s plenty of forums and websites that bleat on about certain aspects of becoming parents but Suz and I find them terrifying so starting up this blog has been far more beneficial. So, lastly, and for what may be the last time ’til the little one breaks through Suz’s undercarriage, here’s what we’re loving this week. Hasta la vista!

These guys are all over the moses basket, bedding bundle, nursery shizzmatizz and we stocked up a treat! The moses basket we opted for looks nice and cosy (although hopefully baby won’t get too comfy or it’ll never want to move to the cot) and once I’ve stopped biking around Woburn woods for two minutes I promise I’ll get the stand erected so it can take pride of place in our bedroom. The bedding bale includes a couple of sheets, a blanket, a quilt and a bumper (and Suz got all excited and shrieky because it comes in a huge wicker basket and ribbon), so that’s nice. And, in general, they cater for all new baby requirements. Take a peek at their site if you’re on the hunt for a top notch nursery that won’t bankrupt you to decorate.

One of our lovely friends bought us this as a baby shower gift and we think it’s bloomin’ ace. We’ll be heading over to the US as a threesome early next year where I’ll begin my warm weather training and now the baby will look cooler than cool at the airport. I’m almost jealous… I used to holiday in Rhyl, Suz in Yorkshire… our baby will be travelling half way across the world before it’s 6 months old.

Calm Down Boris by Sam Lloyd

One of the things we’re most excited about is getting baby book obsessed. This was another present from the baby shower and we’re not even the slightest bit embarrassed to admit we’ve been reading (and puppeteering) to each other already. The friend who gave us this as a gift has exactly the same for her 4 month old and apparently he can’t get enough. Cosy nights in the nursery with an array of books and a sleepy baby is something we’re very much hoping will happen (although we’ll have to report back on if this actually happens).